The Grand Oak

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The Grand Oak is a large talking sapient tree, a sylvan, that lives in the West Brecilian Forest. It is different from the other sylvans in that it is not immediately aggressive towards the Warden, and it can talk. For unknown reasons it only talks in rhymes when speaking. It jokingly suggests that this might be because it was fused with the soul of a poet, and is thus a poet-tree. It does appear to be a little lonely, and its desire for companionship has led it to place tremendous value upon its acorn.

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Not much is known about the Grand Oak's background except that it appears to be a spirit that has possessed a tree. It lived in the forest even before the arrival of Witherfang and the werewolves, and did take note of the disappearance of the forest spirit, but has not been around long enough to know why the Veil in the forest has become so weak. However, its guess is that a battle must have occurred in which many of the participants perished in the forest.

“We now have a dog and Alistair is still the dumbest one in the party.” — MorriganThis article contains spoilers for Dragon Age: Origins. Click here to reveal them.

It wishes to send the Warden on a quest to retrieve its acorn, which it says it cannot live without. This can be done by trading a book, a ring or a scarf with the Mad Hermit. If the Warden returns the scarf to Athras and receives the Dalish amulet as a reward, then that can also be traded instead. The Grand Oak will reward you for returning its acorn by giving you the Oak Branch. Possessing this branch will allow you to go into the center of the Brecilian forest. Alternatively, you can choose to attack the Grand Oak to continue the Mad Hermit's quest line.

Upon death, the Grand Oak may drop:

Greater Health PoulticeGreater Health PoulticeHerbalism A skilled herbalist has rendered a variety of medicinal ingredients into this soothing, restorative substance.

Bug!ps3pcxbox360 A glitch may cause the Grand Oak to have an active quest marker over its head after its quest has been completed. It is caused by asking the Mad Hermit about getting to the center of the forest. He asks you to kill the Grand Oak in return for his assistance, but the Grand Oak will not speak to the player once its acorn has been returned. This makes it impossible to engage in combat. The glitch can be easily avoided by not asking the Hermit about the center of the forest.